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The development of the passive voice in L2 German writing: A functionally oriented longitudinal study Hiram H. Maxim, Emory University Lone Petersen, Georgetown University

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Impetus for study Ongoing curriculum-based research on the development of advanced L2 writing abilities in the Georgetown University German Department (GUGD) Awareness during data analysis of the passive voice as a linguistic feature for furthering the understanding of advancedness

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GUGD-based writing research 1 Syntactic development (Byrnes, et al., 2005; Byrnes, et al., 2010): –Increase in Mean Length of T-Unit (MLTU) and Mean Length of Clause (MLC) from intermediate to very advanced learners –Increase in Clauses per T-Unit (CTU) for intermediate and advanced learners but decrease for very advanced learners Relativization (Byrnes & Sinicrope, 2008): –Emergence and use of more marked relative clauses already at intermediate level. Increase in relativization and reduction of more marked types of relativization at upper levels

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Data source I 14 undergraduate learners who completed three consecutive curricular levels: –Level II (Intermediate): telling personal stories about contemporary issues in the German-speaking world (e.g., environment, multicultural society, identity, art and society) 170 contact hours upon completion of level –Level III (Advanced): framing personal stories against public events and histories in the German Federal Republic (e.g., post-war Germany, divided Germany, unified Germany) 255 contact hours upon completion of level –Level IV: reading discourses of contemporary public life Students begin to develop the kinds of literacy abilities that are at the heart of summarizing, interpreting, critiquing, presenting and substantiating an opinion or argument, and practice these orally and in writing. Such language use is critical for study abroad as well as any other professional context in which the German language is used. (Developing multiple literacies) –310 contact hours upon completion of level

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Overview of PPTs Thematic FocusTextual FocusAudience Level II Imaginative treatment of personal relationships [Alternative Ending to the Novel The Story of Mr. Sommer] Placing narration about personal lives into the context of a literary work, literary conventions Personal and public Level III Multicultural lives in contemporary German [Journalistic treatment At home in Germany? A Portrait of a Vietnamese Family] Placing personal experiences into a broader social context Public Level IV Germanys role in the EU; creation of a constitution [European Union and the United States: comparisons and lessons´´] Making an argument about social, political, economic developments in societies Public

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1. Incidence of passive voice Clauses in the passive voice, Levels II-IV (as percentage of total number of clauses)

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Examples of representations of national space 1117 Als Tung fast zwei war, ging seine Mutter nach ehemaligen DDR, als Vertragsarbeiterin in einer Schuhfabrik zu arbeiten. Sie tat dies, um ihr Kind und Mann, der als Bauarbeiter nahe Hanoi arbeiteten, zu stützen. Vor fünf Jahre entschied sie, Tung nach Deutschland für ein besseres Leben zu holen. When Tung was almost two his mother went to the former GDR to work as an employee at a shoe factory. She did this in order to support her child and her husband who worked as a construction worker near Hanoi. Five years ago she decided to bring Tung to Germany for a better life die klüger kamen der abschiebung zuvor, indem sie in einen staat ausresiten, der kein solches abkommen geschlossen hatte. Als gegenleistung verplfichtete sich hanoi, die landsleute wieder aufzunehmen. The wiser ones prevented deportation by leaving for a state that did not have that kind of treaty. In return, Hanoi obligated itself to take the fellow countrymen back again Ein anderer Unterschied ist, dass die EU die europäische Charter der grundlegenden Rechte annahm bevor sie eine Verfassung hatten. Sie erkannten, dass die Mitgliedsstaaten eine Tradition des Respektierens der grundlegenden Rechte hatten und es ein Teil ihrer einzelnen Verfassungs war. Another difference is that the EU accepted the European charter of basic rights before it had a constitution. It realized that the member states had a tradition of respecting the basic rights and that it was a part of their constitution Die originalen dreizehn Kolonien der USA hatten nicht eine solche Geschichte. Sie konnten ihre Macht nur bilden als sie vereinigt wurden. Die Kolonien hatten ein einziges Interesse, das durch die amerikanische Verfassung geschützt und vereint wurde. Diese Elemente sind nicht gegenwärtig innerhalb der Union oder seiner Mitgliedsländer. The original 13 US colonies didnt have such a history. They could only build their power when they were united. The colonies had one single interest that was protected and unified by the American constitution. These elements are not existent inside the union or its member countries. Level 3 Level 4